Material storage and handling apparatus



March 4, 1952 F. P. JOHNSON MATERIAL STORAGE AND HANDLING APPARATUS 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 17, 1946 F250 P JOHNSON art/0W rmn March 1952 F. P. JOHNSON 2,587,854

MATERIAL STORAGE AND HANDLING APPARATUS Filed June 17, 1946 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Mardl 1952 F. P. JOHNSON MATERIAL STORAGE AND HANDLING APPARATUS 5 SheQts-Sheet 5 Filed June 1'7, 1946 flee-0 R JOHNSON gwuvwtoa F. P. JOHNSON MATERIAL STORAGE AND HANDLING APPARATUS March 4, 1952 5 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed June 17, 1946 March 1952 F. P. JOHNSON MATERIAL STORAGE AND HANDLING APPARI.

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5 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed June 17, 1946 FEED JoH/vso/v awe/whom Patented Mar. 4, 1952 UNITED STATES PATENT omen":

MATERIAL STORAGE AND LHANDLINGL APPARATUS;

Fredj P. Johnson, R'aeford, N '0."

AppIic'ationIJuneLH, 1946, Serial No. 677,296

8' claims; (Cl: 214-16) his: nvention relates: to appa a us fo h handling of bulk material, such-aswcottonfibers woolen fi bers insulation materials, and in fact any; loose, material which-l is lightenough to be onvey d y p eu tic means-n It is? an object; of this; invention to provide. a storage and; fiber handling apparatus comprising a, building; having: means, for forcing thereinto bulk material; and in providing various compartfloors and fiber handling apparatusassociated therewith to;v convey the, fibrous 'material@selec-" tively into any one ofj a pluralityjof storage, rooms or,compartments-disposedion either of said floors, and means for withdrawingnthematerial from anyone of the;desired-compartmentsand delivering; the same to other-bufldingsor to'other machines for further processing. Itris=a furtherobject of thisiinvention to provide fiber-storage, and handling means whereby it is possible toconvey-fibrous material into any one of a plurality of storage compartmentsand withdraw simultaneously; stored material" from Hilly-v01 the other compartments: to be, delivered to I other buildings-- or other machines: for further processing.-

Some of thewobjects or the. invention having" 7 been stated, otherobjects-will appear asmthe description proceeds, when taken in. connection with the-accompanying drawings, in which:

Figured; is'an elevationof a building equilipedk with my apparatus; a

Figure, 2- is a top-plan view of. the-building shown in Figure 1 with-some-.oi?the top portions thereof broken away;

Figure 3, a vertical-sectional view taken, through the building, shown ;in Figure 1, .and" substantially-along the 1ine,3,-3Qin.F-igure 2;.

Figure 41s a vertical sectionaLview "taken substantially along-- the 1ine '.-4,--4V.,in,1g7igure 3';

figure, 5,is:a;view; partlm insection and nlial ly 2i in elevation and taken substantially along, the line 55 in Figure 3, and showing the pipe and shaft in; elevation; except the pipe is broken awayin places; V

Figure 6 is a view taken substantially along the line 6-6 in Figure 3, and being partly in section and partly inelevation; V

Figure 7 is a-verticalsectional viewtaken substantially along the line 1--l in Figurefi; v

Figure 8 isa vertical sectional view taken substantially along the line 8"- 8 in Figure 6; M

Figure 9 is a vertical sectional view through the valve for determining whether the material iswithdrawn from the storage house or with- ,drawn from a vehicle disposed therebe-low, and

relatesto the structure shown in theupperright hand corner of Figure 1. V

Figure 10 is asectional plan viewtaken substantially along the linelfl lt f Figure 3;

Figure 11 is a. sectional planzview taken along the line ll-l l in Figure 3. I

Referring more specifical1y;, to the drawings, the numeral ,l il-indicatcs theouter Wall of'a suitablestorage househaving a, suitable roof] H, and having, aninner circular wall I2 providing a-circular space I3-at theqcenterv of the building. This building is divided into a plurality ofjcompartments A toiQ inclusive-by meansorv radially disposed walls l4 extending. between the inner wall I2 and the outer wall [0. The floor plan of thejlower story-of the rbuilding is the same as the top story andllike, reference charactersare used for the lower story, wherethe structureis shown,- with the prime-notation added; Each ofthe compartmentsv A: to Q inclusive hasi a window. or opening I6; which has'suitable louvers l1 thereinto prevent blowing rainsfrom entering these windowsandeach of these windows is completely covered on the-insideby means ofa suitable screen 8 to" prevent material, suchjas cotton, from being blownl out off the window when it isdeliveredinto the compartinentl The building hasuppenand} lower, stories," but the structure is the, same and 1 like reference characters will apply with. the primetnotationladded.

The building also has doors and 2.0 to permit-ingress or egress to the upper andtlower stories respectively, Suitable steps, 22 and 23 l are provided leading; tothese doors; Leading from each of the doors is a hallway25and25', which permits a person to gain access'toj the space within the inner circular wall I3: The building is provided with an upperceiling 26 and a lower c,eiling, 2 1 andafloor 28, Theseceilings 26fand 21' have suitable circular openings 29 'andf30 at and is forked into two pipes 60 and 6|.

their central portions for the installation of apparatus to be presently described. The floor 28 has a suitable opening 3| disposed above a well 32 for the installation of suitable withdrawing apparatus to be presently described.

Circular wall I2 of the upper and lower stories of this building is almost completely formed by a plurality of doors 35, having a suitable lock or latch mechanism 36 for latching the same in closed position. Above each of these doors in an ingress hole 31 through which fibers may be blown into a particular compartment. The bottom of each door 35 has a separately hinged portion 38 through which materials may be withdrawn in a manner to be presently described.

The roof I I is supported by any suitable means, such as rafters 4|, and it has a dormer window, indicated at 42, through which a suction pipe 43is led. This suction pipe has a conventional universal joint 44 to which a telescopic pipe *45'is'secured, so that this pipe can be let down into a wagon or truck loaded with cotton to withdraw the cotton therefrom. The pipe 43 leads to a combined suction and blower fan 46, whichhas an output pipe 41 leading therefrom, which turns downwardly and fits into an annular member 50, which has an outturned horizontal annular portion the member 50 having secured to its exterior suitable legs 52, which are secured on top of the ceiling 26 outside of the opening 29. Rotatably mounted in annular member 50 is another annular member 53, which has a horizontally disposed flange 54, which is welded to a "suitable U-shaped member 55, which has its lower end welded to the upper end of a pipe 56. Secured on the inside surface of annular member 53 is a casing 58, which projects downwardly Mounted in the casing 58 is a transverse shaft 62 to which is welded the lower end of a vane 63, which has a; double ended lever 64 secured on its outer end. 'The shaft 62 is likewise mounted for rotation in bearings 65 and 66 in the U-shaped member 55.

To the free ends of lever 64 are secured cords '6! and 68 which may be wound one at a time around a handle member I0 to set the vane 63 in one of two positions, that is, either the "dotted line position, shown in Figure 8, or the bold line position, to direct the incoming cotton or the fibers or other material into either the branch 60 or 6I of the casing 58.

' Secured to branch 60 in a delivery pipe I3, which is adapted to coincide with one of the This pipe 31 in one of the compartments in the lower 1 story. By rotating the shaft 62 to hold line position in Figure 8, the incoming material will be delivered through pipe I3 to one of the upper compartments, whereas by rotating the shaft 62 to the dotted line position, shown in Figure 8,

, the material will be delivered through pipe I4 and discharge pipe 16 into one, of the lower compartments.

Rotatably mounted around pipe 56 is a larger pipe 80 to which is secured by means of suitable strap members. 8| and 82 a downwardly pipe 83, which has anelbow at its upper end and has a "horizontal portion 84 which houses a telescopic" pipe 85, which is adapted to be projected through the opening formed by opening one of the doors 33 into the lower part of one of the upper compartments for withdrawing material therefrom. The material being withdrawn from a compartment is preferably fed to the suction pipe by an operator located within the compartment.

Pipe 83 projects downwardly and is connected to-a branch section 86 of a Y-casing 01, which also has a branch 88. The branch 88 has connected thereto a pipe 89, which projects upwardly and laterally and has a pipe 90 telescopically mounted therein, which may be pushed through the space formed by opening the door 38 to one of the lower compartments.

The lower end of Y-casing 81 fits into an annular member 9|, which has a horizontal flange 92, which is adapted to rest on the horizontal portion of an annular member 93, which is supported by a plurality of legs 94 secured on the fioor95 of a well 32 extending below the centrally disposed opening 3|;

Mounted in the Y-casing 81 is a transverse shaft 91, which has a vane 98 thereon and on the exterior of the Y-casing 81 is a double ended lever 99, to which cords I00 and NI may be secured and one of these cords may be wound around a handle I02, disposed on pipe 80. By this means, the vane 98 can be turned tobold line or dotted line position, as shown in Figure 7, to withdraw material from one of the upper compartments or one of the lower compartments, as desired. The annular member 92 has an inverted U-shaped member I04 to the upper end of which is welded pipe 80, whereas pipe 56 extends down to the upper portion of inverted U-shaped member I04, but is not secured thereto so that pipe 56 can be rotated independently of pipe 80. Fitting into annular member 93 is a suction pipe I06 which leads beneath the building and goes to a suitable gin house and the like I01, and leads to a conventional condenser or dropper I08 and from the other side of this member I08 a suction pipe I09 leads to a suction fan H0.

The pipe I06 has a casing III disposed therein which has a downwardly projected portion II2, having a conventional universal joint I I3 therein from which extends a pipe'I I4, and in which is telescopically mounted a suction pipe II5. Disposed within this casing II I is a transverse shaft II6 to which a. vane H1 is at one edge secured and on the exterior of the casing III, the shaft I I6 has secured thereto a double ended lever II8 to the free'ends of which cords H9 and I20 are secured, and the free ends of these cords can be 'wound around a suitable fastening device |2| to hold the vane II either in bold line position, as shown in Figure 9,'- or in dotted line position. When in" bold line position, the fan IIO will be withdrawing fibers from one of the upper or lower compartments inthe storage building, but if a load of cotton and the like should be desired to be withdrawn from a truck or wagon, thenthe vane II! can be moved to dotted line position, shown in Figure 9, and the suction pipe II5 can be employed for unloading the truck or wagon and delivering the cotton or other fibers into the interior of building I01.

.The pipe I06 has disposed therein a Y-member or valve casing I25 having a branch I26 which extends in a straight line and is connected to the other portion of pipe I06 remote from themember 93. Thevalve casing I25 has a pipe I21 also leading therefrom, which is directed reversely and-to the left in Figures 1 and3, and connects to a vertical. pipe I28. having an, inside diameter of; suitabledimensionsto.slida'blybut tightly re..- ceive. a telescopic pipe. 40 slidably mounted in pipe 45. The upper. endv of pipe I28. is funnel shaped as at I29 to make it easy to insert the telescopic pipe. 40 thereinto.

Rotatably mounted at the junction point of branches I 26 and I 21 is a vertical. shaft I30 on which. is fixedly secured a vane I3I. Shaft I30 projects upwardly and has a crank. I32 fixedly secured thereon to which is pivotally secured. a rod I-33-which.pro jects outwardly, to the exterior of-- the building to a point where it can. be en.- gaged byan operator. This-rod I33 is slidably supported in guides I34secured on the lower side of thefloor I28 ofthe building.

The purpose of-thisarrangement is to permit seed= cotton, for example, to be withdrawn from any selected compartment and discharged into another compartment as is occasionally done in the storage of seed cotton. Instead of withdrawing the; material from one of the compartments and conducting it to the gin house I01, by turning the vane I 3| to the dotted line position shown inFigure 11 and inserting the telescopic pipe 43 into the funnel I29, and starting the suction and blower fan 46, it is then possible to withdraw material through pipe 83 from any one of the upper compartments or through pipe 89 from any one of the lower compartments and direct it bacl; to pipe 43 and through either of the pipes I3 or 16 into any one of the upper or lower compartrnents. By the handling of the cotton in this manner, it adds value to the finished product, inthat the seed cotton is aerated, and its g inning characteristics are greatly improved.

Method of operation When it is desired to deposit cotton or other loose material into the storage bins A to Q inelusive for the upper story or A to Q inclusive for the lower story, the suction and blower fan 46' isstarted and a telescopic pipe 45 is placedin contact with the materials desired to be stored, and an operator will be standing where he can seize handle I and-rotate the upper assemblyto where pipe 13 and pipe I6 will coincidewith one ofthe openings 3;! or 37' and by manipulating the cords 61 and 65, the vane 63 can be turned to either the bold line position in Figure 8 or dottedline position. If it" is turned to the bold lineposition then the material will be blown through pipe 13 and throughopeningt'i in the selected compartment until thesame is filled, the

air passing outof this compartmentthrough the; opening I6. This filling of one compartment and the passing onto another can be-continueduntil 7 ingformed by opening one of the lower doors 38 or 38". Then the vane 98 can be turned to boldg or dotted line position, as shown in Figure 7,- and the material can be withdrawn either fromone of the lower compartments, or from one of the upper compartments, as desired.

While cotton fibers woolfiber-s. and the. likes have. been referred throughout thias ecifiqdgtion, t. i desired be underst od; thattbis systemcan be used for the storageand handling of a y. at ial: capable. or b ing transfer d: by pneumatic. means.

It is. common. practice in he tor n at seed cotton, for example, to move it from one com; pa tmentto an ther. and whe thisis desired tobe. done, the vane 1.31 can. homere c zh dotted line positionshown iniFigure 1 1;, and with the. suction, and. blower means 45 operating, and extensible pipe 40, inserted into funnel I 29 and t p pe -Z any aterial:withdrawn-Item any one. of the. compartments, instead of being directed to condenser or separator I08 will be d1; rectedbackintoany desired-upper or lowerv compartment: for future storage.

In the. drawings and specification, there; has

been. set forth. a preferred embodiment of the invention, and. although specific terms are com ployed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only, and not for purposes of limitation, the. scope. of the. invention being defined in the claims.

I claim:

1. Apparatus for storing. and handling bulk material capableof being transmitted by pneumatic means comprising a. building having upper and lower stories, each story having an outer Wall and a circular inner wall forming a centrally disposed enclosure, the inner wall of each compartment having an opening. near the top thereof and a second opening near. the bottom thereof, a rotatable member mounted in thespace defined bythe inner wall and having two pipes extending therefrom, one pipe extending. laterally and registering with the upper openings in the compartments in theupper story and the other pipe extending downwardly and-laterally and registering with. theupper openingsin the compartments of the lower story, suction and blowing means con nected to theupper ends of thetwo pipes for discharging material thereinto, and valved means disposed at the junction of the two pipes for selectively directing material into the upper pipe or the lower pipe for forcing material into oneof the upper compartments or one of the lower compartments, and means, for rotating said pipes to cause them. to register with the upper openings of any desired upper and lower compartments.

2. Apparatus for storing and; handling bulk material capable of'being transmitted by pneumatic meanscomprising a building having upper and lower stories, each story having an outer wall and a circular inner-wall, theinner wall of each compartment having an opening near the top thereof and a, second opening-near the bottom thereof, a rotatable. member mounted in the space defined by the inner wall and having two i es. extend-ins. h lt i m. one pipe extending laterally and registering with the upperopenings inthe compartments in the upper story, and the other pipe extending downwardly and laterally and registering-with the upper openings in the cqmpartmentsof thelower story, suction and blowing. means connected, to the upperends of the .two, .pipesfor dischargingmaterial thereinto, valved means disposed at thejunctionof thetwo pipes. for. selectively directing material into the uDR r pipe or; the-lower pipe for forcingmaterial intooneof the upper compartments, or one; of thellower compartments, means for rotating said pipes. to cause. them to.register.- with the upper openings 1 ofany. desired ,upper; and lower comr nts e s ciienripe.leadineifro ir helowe portion of the space defined by the inner wall of the lower story, and having a pair of pipes extending upwardly and laterally, one of saidpipes being extensible to extend into one of the lower openings in one of the lower compartments and the other pipe being extensible to extend into one of the lower openings in one of theupper fibers, comprising a building having an upper story and a lower story and having an outer wall and a circular inner wall forming a circular compartment at the center of the building, and having a plurality of radially disposed partitions dividing the upper and lower stories into a plurality of compartments, each portion of the inner wall associated with each compartment having an upper opening and a lower opening, rotatable means disposed within the'space defined by the 'inner wall for discharging, selectively, material through an upper opening in the upper story or through an upper opening in the lower story, other rotatable means in the lower story in the space defined by the inner wall thereof for withdrawing, selectively, material from a lower opening in one of the upper compartments and one of the lower compartments.

4. Apparatus for storing and withdrawing from storage bulk material, such as various fibers, comprising a building having an upper story and a lower story and having an outer wall and an inner wall, the inner wall being substantially circular in plan, a plurality of radially disposed partitions dividing the upper and lower stories into a plurality of compartments, the inner wall having an upper opening and lower opening therein communicating with each compartment, pneumatic means for delivering material into an upper opening in one of the stories at a time, said pneumatic means being rotatable to cause it to register with an upper opening in one of the com-,

partments in both the upper and lower stories, suction means rotatably mounted in the lower story and having a pair of suction means disposed adjacent the inner wall and having extensible means for extending into the lower openings of said compartments, selectively operated means for creating a suction in one of the lastnamed means for withdrawing material from a selected compartment.

5. Apparatus for handling bulk material comprising a building having upper and lower stories,

ing two pipes, one registering with the upper openings in the upper story, and one registering with the upper openings in the lower story, valved means for directing material through either of the two pipes to the upper or lower compart-.

ments, pneumatic means for forcing material through said pipes into the upper or lower compartments, other rotatable suction means having a pair of pipes, one extending to a joint adjacent -the lower openings in the upper story and the 'other extending to a point adjacent the lower openings in the lower story, means for creating a suction in said last-named pipes to withdraw material therethrough and valved means for selectively connecting one of the two last-named pipes to the suction means for withdrawing material from an upper compartment or a lower compartment.

6. Apparatus for storing and handling bulk material capable of being transmitted by pneumatic means comprising a building having upper and lower stories, each story having an outer wall and a circular inner wall, the inner wall of each compartment having an opening near the top thereof and a second opening near the bottom thereof, a rotatable member mounted in the space defined by the inner wall and having two pipes extending therefrom, one pipe extending laterally and registering with the upper openings in the compartments in the upper story and the other pipe extending downwardly and laterally and registering with the upper openings in the compartments of the lower story, suction and blowing means connected to the upper ends of the two pipes for discharging material thereinto,

valved means disposed at the junction of the two pipes for selectively directing material into the upper pipe or the lower pipe for forcing material into one of the upper compartments, or one of the lower compartments, means for rotating said pipes to cause them to register with the upper openings of any desired upper and lower compartments, a suction pipe leading from the lower portion of the space defined by the inner wall of the lower story, and having a pair of pipes extending upwardly and laterally, one-of said pipes being extensible to extend into one of the lower openings in one of the lower compartments and the other pipe being extensible to extend into one of the lower openings in one of the upper compartments, valved means at the junction point of the last-named two pipes disposed in the lower story for selectively applying suction to either one of the pipes in the lower story, said pipes in the lower story being rotatable to cause them to register with a selected lower opening in an upper compartment and in a lower compartment, a three-way valve disposed in said suction pipe, a branch pipe leading from said three-Way valve to a point adjacent the suction side of said suetion and blower means, and means for connecting the branch pipe to the suction side of said suction and blower means.

7. Means for conveying and storing bulk material capable of being transmitted by pneumatic means, such as vegetable, animal or mineral fibers, comprising a building having an upper story and a lower story and having an outer wall and a circular inner wall forming a circular compartment at the center of the building, and having a plurality of radially disposed partitions dividing the upper and lower stories into a plurality of compartments, each portionof the 1 inner wall associated with each compartment from a lower opening in one of the upper compartments and one of the lower compartments, and means for directing material after it is with- 9 drawn from one compartment to said first rotatable means to be deposited into another compartment.

8. Apparatus for storing and withdrawing from stor e bulk material, such as various fibers, comings of said compartments, selectively operated means for creating a suction in one of the last- FRED P. JOHNSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

' UNITED STATES PATENTS 

